Information Technology for Counterterrorism: Immediate Actions and Future PossibilitiesThis report identifies potentially significant risks to the nation's citizens and assets with information technology. The report provides an assessment of near-term actions that can be taken to counter these threats based on currently available science and technology. It identifies opportunities for R&D to further reduce the nation's vulnerability or increase its capacity to respond to terrorist threats or attacks.

The panel will develop an S&T strategy for reducing the nation's vulnerability to terrorism from attacks on the information technology infrastructure of the nation. Both physical and cyberattacks will be considered. To this end, the panel will identify potentially significant risks to the nation's citizens and assets and will (1) provide an assessment of near-term actions that can be taken to counter these threats based on currently available S&T and (2) identify opportunities for R&D to further reduce the nation's vulnerability or increase its capacity to respond to terrorist threats or attacks.

This project is being supported by The National Academies. The approximate starting date for this project is December 1, 2001. The panel plans to issue one final report approximately 6 months after the beginning of the project.

Note: The project on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism (STCT) is a special initiative of the National Academies, which is currently supported entirely with internal funds. As a matter of institutional policy and not as a legal requirement, this privately funded project will be conducted by the National Academies in conformance with certain posting and notice requirements of its procedures implementing Section 15 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Although it is the National Academies' policy to conduct this project in as open a manner as possible, where the STCT committee, its panels, the government, or other provider of information specifies that public release could result in advertising the potential vulnerabilities to terrorism that might compromise national security or public safety, the National Academies may determine that such data-gathering meetings or sessions should not be open to the public.

Committee Members

John L. Hennessy, Co-ChairPresidentStanford University

David Patterson, Co-ChairE.H. and M.E. Pardee Chair of Computer ScienceUniversity of California, Berkeley